Sosua Summer’s ability to transfer his sharp turf form to the synthetic track for new connections off the claim could prove the key to the outcome of Saturday’s 10th event at Gulfstream Park. Carded at five furlongs over the Tapeta surface, it is the second of two lower-level optional-claiming and allowance races on the program. The first will be decided by fillies and mares going one mile on the grass.
The co-features will be the fourth and fifth legs of the Rainbow 6 sequence. There is a mandatory payout of the entire pool scheduled for Sunday.
Sosua Summer finished second, beaten just a half-length, when dropped in for a $25,000 claiming tag under similar conditions over the turf four weeks earlier. He rallied along the rail but fell just short of race winner And Uwish in a well-graded event for which he received an 87 Beyer Speed Figure.
Sosua Summer, a stakes winner in 2024 whose four career victories have all come on grass, was haltered out of the race by trainer Victor Barboza Jr., who owns an above average success rate running back new acquisitions off the claim. Sosua Summer’s ability to replicate that last performance over the Tapeta strip is the issue, as the son of Summer Front has only had two previous starts on synthetic surfaces, with one second-place finish to show for those efforts.
Sosua Summer is one of two key players Barboza has entered in the event, along with the lightly raced El Apagon, who has even less experience over the synthetic footing than his mate. A Chilean-bred whose only two victories came on dirt in South America, El Apagon did show promise on the grass in his most recent appearance when rallying to finish fourth, just two lengths behind Sosua Summer, despite a bit of a wide trip, when making his turf bow last month.
Tap Gold split the Barboza pair in the trio’s previous encounter after pressuring the pace from the outset as the tepid favorite. He figures to benefit from the switch to the Tapeta track in the rematch as he has already won five times over the local course. His trainer, Rohan Crichton, also has entered Cruzin Man in the race. Cruzin Man has been close on numerous occasions in this category of late, albeit while remaining winless in his last nine starts dating back to January 2024.
◗ A highly competitive field of 11 fillies and mares will contest the co-featured ninth race on turf, including Barboza’s Tape Runner, who exits what figures to be a much-needed third-place finish against similar opposition over the Tapeta track in her 2025 debut two months ago. Tape Runner has made only one start on grass, finishing a non-menacing ninth after trouble at the break in her 2024 finale.
Dea Matrona, who won this condition by nearly three lengths earlier this winter while making her one and only previous start on the Tapeta strip, returns to a more suitable spot after being overmatched in each of her last two outings. She should prove a key contender, along with Starship Boeing, second behind the red-hot Ashima in her latest start, and Smiling Ellie, who registered a career- and field-best Beyer Figure of 83 last out when second to gate-to-wire winner Do Gooder when dropping into this condition for the first time April 19.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.